Tag Archives: legal
You Can Now Legally Eliminate Debt
The question we want to ask is it possible to legally eliminate debt. Yes, there are many options available today to get relief. There are many reputable sources that can provide the know-how to legally eliminate your debt or at least dramatically reduce your financial obligation. You need to work with a professional that uses only ethical practices in their field of expertise. It is important to spend the extra time to find someone who is good at what they do, but the time you spend will be well worth the effort in the end.
A few options that you can choose from are, negotiation, reducing or consolidation your debt. All of these are very useful tools when trying to eliminate your debt. Sometimes even using bankruptcy is a good solution to relieve some of your financial obligations, you must check with your state laws. Just remember that bankruptcy should be used only as a last resort. The laws have changed recently and criterias in certain states can be more strict than before.
You are always better off to try to legally eliminate your debt quickly, rather than waiting until the threat of bankruptcy or collection suits become your only answer. Check out most financial services that are BBB members, they usually have more credibility to advise you about your debt. A great financial option is to negotiate a settlement to relief you of harassing phone calls and unwanted letters in the mail. Negotiating a debt is a legal way to eliminate your debt that is legal because these settlements are renegotiated with the original creditor and every party is in agreement.
The consequences of negotiation to eliminate this debt has some repercussions. The law says that the agreed upon reduction percentage of the settlement must be disclosed to the IRS. The ower can be taxed on that saved amount. Also the settlement does not help with your credit in the short term, but will get the debtor off your back.
Just remember that you need to check all business licences and credentials to check the legitimacy of the people you are working with.
An Inheritance of Debt
“He left me nothing but bills. Do I have to pay them?”
Unfortunately, many folks who have lost a loved one quickly find that the deceased had accrued substantial debt. Survivors are often then left with the challenges of managing this debt both ethically and legally. While the moral issue is something that should be understood, the legal obligation is what concerns most people. The usual question asked is “Do I owe the debt of a deceased family member?” The answer may shock you.
If a deceased person originated a debt that he/she alone accrued, then he/she was responsible, and you are not. In this case you should rest easy because you would have no legal obligation to pay the debt. However the debt of a dead relative may affect you due to possible responsibility of their estate to make right those obligations, thereby leaving a lot less inheritance to heirs.
There are usually only two circumstances where you may be legally responsible for a relatives debts. The first case is when you are a co-signer on obligations of the individual. This would happen when you and the deceased were co-signers on a loan such as a credit card account or a property mortgage. In those cases you were jointly and severally (together and individually) obligated. Just because one of the parties obligated for a debt passes away, it does not relieve the surviving party of their responsibility.
The other possible obligation scenario is if you are the spouse of the deceased person and you live in what is referred to as a “community property” state. These states include Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. If you live in these states and your husband or wife dies, you will want to seek counsel from an estate attorney.
Another issue comes in feeling a moral obligation to pay a deceased relatives debts even though there is no legal obligation to do so. Before you consider this option you should take into consideration how the loss of the funds in question will affect you and your familys current and long term security. In addition, you should recognize that companies that loan money know that a certain number of their debtors will pass away owing them money. They compensate for this reality in the fees and interest they charge their entire customer base. So, the pay off of debts owed by a deceased person, by a relative, can be viewed as bonus profits for the company in question instead of an unexpected loss.
You will note that most companies protect themselves from the possibility of loss by getting multiple signers on debt instruments and placing liens on collateral such as real property, automobiles, equipment, etc so that they can either take ownership of the assets or force their sale in order to satisfy the debt. If you choose to pay off a relatives debt when you have no legal obligation to do so, that is your choice, but be sure to consider all aspects of the action before you do so.